Building a culture of inquiry

This story describes how an ISTE introduced a particular model of inquiry into a school; in this case, Robinson and Lai’s (2006) problem-based methodology. Sharing and comparing each person’s theory of practice around a particular issue enabled the group to reconstruct their theories to incorporate a deeper and more complex understanding of teachers’ roles in meeting their students’ needs.

I work as an adviser in secondary schools. In one school, a group of six secondary teachers were meeting together to look at ways of improving the learning of low-achieving students in Years 9 and 10. They asked me to work with them on processes and ideas for developing a possible model for the school to use.

At the start, the teachers identified two school systems that they thought were getting in the way of learning for low-achieving students. These were how students were allocated to classes and the rigidity of the years 9 and 10 assessment and award system.

Using Robinson and Lai’s problem-based methodology, we worked through a series of critical questions designed to surface our beliefs about these learners and how these beliefs shape our practice. As an outcome, the teachers agreed to each work with one low-achieving student and to:

• interview the student to find out what helps them learn and what gets in the way of their learning;
• build a profile of the student’s achievements, strengths, and interests;
• experiment with their teaching practice to see if they could help the student achieve at a higher level.

After two terms’ work, one of the teachers came to a meeting with what she described as a revelation. She told us that she had thought that the most useful thing the group could do was to advocate for changes in school systems. But talking to the student, doing his profile, and experimenting with formative assessment and differentiation of lessons had made her think differently. She now realised that “nothing was going to change for these students until we teachers change what we do in our classrooms”. This stimulated much ongoing dialogue and sharing in the group as the teachers came to terms with this change from a single focus on school structures and systems to a more complex understanding that, although these are important, each teacher has to make a difference inside their classroom.

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